The accumulated retail sales up to the month of November reached the figure of $35.268
billion, an increase of 4% compared to the sales of 2022 when they reached $33.912 billion. The
nominal increase is 2% higher than the prevailing inflation level on the Island, which stands at 2%.
However, sales for the month of November alone increased by 7.4% to reach $3.397 billion
compared to the $3.162 billion achieved in November 2022. The category that experienced the greatest increase in November was department stores, which saw a rise of 19.5%, increasing from $1.052 billion to $1.262 billion during that period. Cumulatively, department store sales reached $11.977 billion, a 4.9% increase compared to the previous period.
Supermarket sales, which showed a lot of dynamism between 2021 and 2022, had been
trending downwards until November. Cumulatively, they have sold $4.779 billion compared to $4.622 billion from January to November 2022, representing an increase of 3.4%. In November 2023, sector sales amounted to $453 million compared to $437 million in 2022, reflecting an increase of 3.6%.
Finally, restaurant sales maintain a sustainable growth, and in November, accumulated sales
reached $2.425 billion compared to $2.248 billion, showing a growth of 7.5%. In November
2023, sector sales recorded an increase from $213.9 million to $221.7 million, representing a
growth of 3.6%.
The sales report reflects that sales of small businesses during the month of November fell by
$80 million to $52.1 million, a decrease of $34.8 million. Meanwhile, cumulatively, sales in this
sector show a decrease of 11.3%. Sales have dropped from $1.402 billion to $1.244 billion. On the other hand, medium-sized stores experienced increases of 22% in November and 14.5% cumulatively.
